ALBERTON DISTRICT ROAD BOARD Minutes of the first meeting of Members elected at the annual meeting, held on the 25th November. The Board met at the Royal Hotel, Tarraville, at the usual hour. Present—G. D. Hedley, W. Howden, J. Gellion, and J. M. McKenzie. Proposed by G. D. Hedley, seconded by J. M. McKenzie that Mr. Howden be appointed chairman for the ensuing year. Carried. &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Resolved that the Secretary prepare for the next meeting a report of all contracts under this Board that remain unfinished, together with the liabilities of the Board. Resolved that the Secretary direct the attention of' the Road Engineer to the necessity of forthwith constructing culverts &amp;nbsp; across the drains recently made on the &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Alberton and Tarraville Road, at ...

CORRESPONDENCE. To.the Jiilitor. of the Gipps Land Guardian. • Port;Albpi't. Dec. 9th, 1857; Sik,—-It - is to be regretted that those engaged in a trade of so much importance to Gipps Land as the export of stock to Tasmania, should be minccessavily exposed to such severe losses as that which occurred on the last trip of the: Glencae>■■■when twenty-five valuable bullocks, the property of Mr.•■■Montgomery, died from, what I■.•cannot help believing' to;have been, n . wan t of care or lack of knowledge>in securing proper ventilation-;ofi the ^vessel's hold.v\These J.osses «,occur,red ;• more ?. frequently in former times than fttliey have done of late, the increased - value of the cattle having, led to the,employment of better class of vessels, arid the apportionment of a larger space for " lireaMiing to each bullock. Happening '-to. mention in conversation with some friends a plan I long ago suggested for the. more effectual ventilation of ships holds, I was urged by them to make...

Haitft (Sltiai'tttan, Friday, Wth December, 1857. THE NEW ELECTORAL ACT. As the qualification and mode of registration of electors introduced | by the '.new Act, ■ differ consider-] ably from those liitberto in force,; we give to-day a brief exposition&amp;lt; of tF e most important provisions of the Electoral- Act, and direc tions lor the guidance of those, who,' not being already on the; Electoral Roll of the district, may be desirous of securing the right; cf voting conferred upon them by the existing la,v. ; The principal alterations now introduced are' in- the qualifica tion required in the voter, and m the method of registration. r The registration of voteis is to be quarterly, the general list being .prepared in January, and special lists of those names then omitted, or where the qualifica tion has been acquired since,' in April, July, and October of every year. The Electoral Roll now in force will form the basis of the first registration in January next. Those whose name...

ALBERTON. Thursday, 11th Dec., 1857. (Before the Police Magistrate.) Charles Lucas appeared on a summons to answer to the complaint of Thomas Jeffs for an alleged refusal to pay him a balance of wages due. On the case being gone into, however, it appeared that com plainant and defendant were at issue as to the amount due, and b}' mutual consent the question was referred to arbitration, the decision of the arbitrators to be final.

AN ACT FOR THE MORE EASY RECOVERY OF CERTAIN DEBTS AND DEMANDS. Among other provisions of this very useful act are some with which it - is desirable that our readers should be acquainted, and we therefore transcribe the clauses containing them for their information. Clause iii gives to County Courts7 jurisdiction throughout the whole colony " but if on the trial of any plaint in any such court it shall appear that at the time of the commencement of the suit the defendant did not reside or carry on business, and that the cause of action did not arise either wholly or in some material point within one hundred miles of the court in which such plaint was entered, or that some other court under this Act had been at that time created at some place nearer by at least ten miles to the places of abode and business cf the de fendant, than the said first men tioned court, and that the cause of action did not arise wholly or in some material point nearer to the court in which such plaint was en...

TARRAVILLE. Wednesday, 9th Dec., 1857. ("Before the Police Magistrate.) Mr. Micnael Monaghan attended be fore the bench to prosecute on a complaint he had laid against Mrs. Buntine, of Bruthen Creek, for using violent and threatening language towards him. The defendant however did ' not' appear, and on enquiry being made it was found that the constable could only leave the copy of summons at her place of residence, she having left the same day for Sale. Mr. Monaghan, under these circumstances, intimated to the bench that unless her violence was repeated he would not take further proceedings against the defendant. Mr. Gurney appeared for the prosecutor.

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE. Improvement in the Breed of Cattle.—J. Johnson^ Esq., M.L.A., of Mevvburn Park.appears to stand foremost among1 our Gipps Land settlers in attempt ing- to improve the breed of stock. It is not long ago he imported into this district a few superior bred " Durhams," and he has now taken another important step in the right direction. The Eclipse landed here the other day the prize bull " Sebas topol," a fine compact animal, thought by some here to. be small, but his other fine points; make up for many.deficiencies in this respect. We are told he will cost Mr. Johnson about £420, and we heartily wish him success. It must be obvious to every one that an improvement in stock- must enhance the best interests of our district. At a meeting- of the Farmers' Club the other day, every, one present appeared to be fully,alive to the necessity of some measure being- adopted to improve stock in the lower district; in a very short time ' bush pasturing will be at an end, and to b...

THE TIMES ON AUSTRALIAN WINE GROWING. ' The Australians, our youngest offshoot, are now seriously turning their attention to the culture of the vine, not with the wish to imitate any particular European ' growth, but as a natural and permanent production of the country. In America the thing has long been talked of, and in certain districts practised; but the same obstacle to success has. intervened as will probably impede the Australian experiment. Wine growing is the pursuit of a poor and laborious peasantry, content with little, and able to give up their whole time to the culture ,of a small area.1 The , husbandman and his wife, in a good vineyard, are always watching the shoots, carrying earth up the;hillside to replace that which has been washed -'away by the rain or parched into1 dust by the sun clipping, pruning, and digging, and must often be content in the end, with a narrow and precarious .■■.■return, i This will not do for. a pushing- people in an empty country, and wine i...

(Before C. J. Tyers, Esq.) Saturday, Dec. 5th, 1857. Henry Regan was sentenced to one month's imprisonment for neglecting to finish a contract. The prisoner had agreed to put up some miles of fencing for Messrs. Ballantyne and Dessailly, but had left his work without stating his intentions to his employers.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE. PORT ALBERT. Monday, 7th Dec., 1857. (Before Dr. Hedley, J»P.) John Maloncy was charged by consta ble Cummins with drunkenness. He had been picked up insensible the day before (Sunday) from the streets of Tarraville. He was fined 80s. and in default of pay ment sent to gaol for three days. ;

ALBERTON DISTRICT ROAD BOARD Meeting held at the Royal Hotel, Tar raville, Dec. 5th, 1857. Present—The Chairman, G. D. Hedley, J. Gellion, J. M. McKenzie, J. Neilson. Minutes of last, meeting read and con firmed. The Secretary laid before the Board a statement showing what contracts re mained unfinished with the amounts due upon each and also the liabilities of the board. The Secretary reported that he had pursuant to minute of last meeting, direcr ted the attention of the Road Enginee to the drains cut across the Port Albert water road and that he had also wrote to Mr: John Wilkinson requesting him to remove the obstruction existing upon the Port Albert water road. Pursuant to notice. Dr. Hedley moved —" That the board fix a hand rail upon Muddy Creek bridge." Seconded by J Neilson. Carried. &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; The Secretary reported that he had wrote to Mr. Abson as directed by a minute of last meeting. Pursuant to notice, Mr....